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Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Vatican City, 6 October 2015 (VIS) –
This morning at 9 a.m., with the recitation of the Terce prayer, the
third Congregation of the General Ordinary Assembly on the Family
opened in the Synod Hall.

His Beatitude Cardinal George
Alencherry, major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the
Syro-Malabars, India, and president of the Synod of the Syro-Malabar
Church, pronounced a homily in which he underlined, in the light of
the Bible readings, the prophetic mission of the Church in our times.

“The reading from Jeremiah gives us a
message very much applicable to the goal of our Synodal deliberations
on family”, he began. “Prophet Jeremiah uttered a few oracles to
the royal family of Judah cautioning the King against the ruin that
may fall upon the Kingdom, if the King does not render Justice and
righteousness and save the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor.
Josiah and Jehoiakim were the kings of Judah, at that time. We know
that both of them were weak kings, and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of
Babylon, destroyed the Kingdom of Judah and the temple. Owing to the
failures of the kings the people were driven to exile and all the
sufferings that arose from it. Josiah and Nebuchadnezzar, the kings
of Judah, could not render justice and righteousness and save the
oppressed from the hand of the oppressor. Justice means the
acceptance of the reign of God and righteousness is the grace of God
resulting from the acceptance of God’s reign. The kings of Judah
failed in their responsibility to give justice and righteousness to
the people, and accordingly the people had to suffer the
consequences”.

“The words of the prophet are
applicable to rulers and leaders of all the times and also to the
people governed by them. In many countries of the world people are
denied justice and righteousness as a result of the promotion of
individualism, hedonism and oppression by secularist values and lines
of action. The question arises as to whether the leaders of the
Church have come forward with a prophetic role like that of Jeremiah
to support the people with the Word of God and by personal witness”.

“Jeremiah had to suffer the cost of
his prophetic role”, the Cardinal observed. “His life was a
symbol of the message he gave. Suffering and ruin he had to take upon
himself. He was asked to accept three signs in his life: not to
marry, not to attend funerals and not to attend parties”.

“'Do not take a wife': Jeremiah is
not to experience the deep love of a bride, for the bride, Israel,
has rejected Yahweh’s love. He must experience loneliness, as
Yahweh experiences loneliness. In Christian times, celibacy becomes a
sign”.

“'Do not go into a house where there
is mourning': Jeremiah is not to mourn or show compassion to the
dead, because Yahweh has lost all feelings for his people. They will
die unlamented”.

“'Do not go into a house where there
is a celebration': Jeremiah is not to join any celebration, because
there is nothing to celebrate. Jeremiah is called to lead a terrible
life, and no wonder he goes into deep depression and bitter lament.
It is not easy to be a prophet”.

“The pastors of the Church in the
present times are called to take upon their lives a prophetic role of
suffering and kenosis, similar to that of the prophet Jeremiah”,
concluded His Beatitude, citing Pope Francis' words in his apostolic
exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium”:

“I prefer a Church which is bruised,
hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than
a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to
its own security. I do not want a Church concerned with being at the
centre and then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and
procedures. If something should rightly disturb us and trouble our
consciences, it is the fact that so many of our brothers and sisters
are living without the strength, light and consolation born of
friendship with Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to support
them, without meaning and a goal in life. More than by fear of going
astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining
shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security,
within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us
feel safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not
tire of saying to us: 'Give them something to eat'”.